The Choice
by maxigu123
Summary: This story is an alternation of the original Sekirei plot. It takes place in the sixth episode of the first season, when Tsukiumi attacks Minato, but instead of him, I integrated myself into the story. It's written in first person. Enjoy, and please give me feedback since this is my first official fanfic. Rated T for a bit of action and emotional themes.
1. Chapter 1 - The Choice

The beginning of this story takes place during the sixth episode of the first season of Sekirei, just when Tsukiumi attacks Minato. I wrote the story from my point of view ( hey - it's a fictional anime, and we all have our small fantasies. If you have a problem with that, you should stop reading here. ), and I hope you will enjoy it.

Chapter 1: The Choice

"The link to the anime is stable", said professor Warrenstein to me, whilst looking at some screens to my right. With "the anime" he meant the fictional series

"Sekirei", my favorite anime, and I was just about to step into a real series for the first time. Previously, we only conducted some experiments and tests on

how my body would react to the transportation. It was a new technology, called a "dream portal". It looked basically like a two meters high elliptic mirror, and

the silver surface inside its frame was the actual event horizon. While the portal was recieving data input and an electrical current, the surface became fluid like

water, without flowing down, like it would just didn't give anything about gravity (what it actually didn't.). But enough of the technical details - I reminded

myself to keep going. It was too late to turn back now. I volunteered to take part in this test on my own, nobody forced me to do it. "Okay, I'm ready.", I said,

taking a deep breath and began to walk towards the glowing silver surface. As my skin came in contact with the fluid-like substance, I felt the familiar soft

resistance that was implemented to prevent objects from passing through the dream portal accidentally. I walked all the way in, and a short pain went through

my entire body - the digitalization. The other volunteers developed the nickname "digi-pain" for it, although it wasn't really painful. A few seconds later, my

vision changed from blurred sillouettes to the clear shapes of buildings. I looked down on my hands and I was suddenly reminded that every shape in this

world needed a comic-like frame. As I looked up again, I was shocked by a small, light blue knife-like object flying by my face with a ridiculous speed. After

recovering from the scare, I smiled; I almost forgot how powerful and strong she could be. I pressed the small button on the in-ear headset and gave the

scientist the signal to load up the script that was so essential to my visit here. This script was designed by myself a few days before the test, and it changed

the story of the anime after the point when Minato decided to make Tsukiumi his fourth Sekirei. It simply changed her...target. To me, to be exact. But there

was absolutely no need to worry - after the plan would be successfully completed, nobody would have noticed that one of Minatos potential Sekirei was

missing. They would just be five instead of six, and everyone would be happy. Hehehe. I also made sure that the original series would not be affected by my

small change - I took my Sekirei DVDs, not the official version that the producers owned. Once again, I had to stop myself from thinking about the details too

much and executed the script. A short flash went through the textures of the walls of the nearby buildings and the ground, then it was done. I looked around

me, expecting her beautiful figure to turn around the next corner every moment, as I programmed it. And then, she appeared - just walking at first, but at my

sight, her features darkened and she began to sprint towards me. For a second, I wondered about that, but then I remembered - she wanted to kill me, that's

right! So I started running, faster than I ever did or could do in my real life. This was just a simulation in the end, and I allowed myself to put in some

advantages for my digital self into the script. I was able to run twice as fast, jump twice as high and take twice as much damage than I would normally be able

to. But, to make it a bit fairer for Tsukiumi, I intendendly ran a bit slower and jumped not as high as I could. She shouldn't think that this wouldn't be normal.

After about four minutes of running and jumping, she launched an area attack at me. One of her water darts hit my left leg, and I stumbled onto the ground. It

was more painful than I expected it to be, but I could stand it. I layed with my face on the cold asphalt, unable to move for several seconds. A soft vibration

told me that she just landed nearby. "Why are you running away? You know you can't run from me forever! I will kill you in the end!", I heard her saying with

her wonderful voice. I managed to turn myself around and looked into her eyes. Those deep blue, beautiful eyes. Then, all of a sudden, she clutched her hands

on her chest, wrothing. "Ah!", she yelled, but I was able to hear a slight frustrated undertone in her voice, just like she couldn't accept that her body just did

that to her. "Hey, are you okay?", I asked. I stood up and ran to her to help her up. I softly grabbed her left arm and her right shoulder. She still looked down

at the ground. I lowered my head slightly to look into her eyes, but she just said: "You...you dare...you dare to TOUCH ME?!". The last two words she screamed

into my ears. I thought for a second that my eardrums wouldn't stand a chance against a volume like that, but fortunately, they did - but not without creating a

short pain in my ears. "Ouch...did you really had to shout out so loud into my ears?", I said, protecting my ears with my hands, "That hurt!". "Oh, I'm gonna

hurt you WAY more than that...", Tsukiumi said, avoiding direct eye contact with me. Damn it!, I thought. I didn't expect the anime to be this smart about

changes to the main story. But I still had a few aces to play out. I was in a simulation, and this simulation needed a timecode to run. I was able to control the

part of the program which controlled the time. Slow-mo, bro! But it was neither the right time nor did I need that right now. And again, I was brought back into

the situation by Tsukiumis voice, yelling at me. "Hey, you stupid monkey, what's to see down there on the ground?", and she sent another wave of water

towards me, literally flushing me about ten meters away from her. I withstood the attack as best as I could, but it still felt painful as hell. I mean, I don't get

smashed against a solid wall with a wave of water every day, so I wasn't really prepared for that. "Hey, monkey! What do you have to say now? Answer me!",

Tsukiumi said, already forming another water attack with her right hand. "I said ANSWER ME!". So I stood up, checked that nothing was broken, turned around

to face her and said, just like Minato did: "I want you to be my Sekirei.". After seeing her reaction, I was absolutely sure that the script worked exactly as I

intended it to. In the original series, she asked Minato what he just said to her, obviously in shock. But I added a small sign into her reaction: her right index

finger would bend about 45 degrees for a few seconds before she would say the next sentence. And guess what happened: her right index finger bent about

45 degrees for a few seconds. I smiled. "What's to laugh at, monkey?!", she angrily asked, but before she could continue, a deep thunder came from the sky. I

ran towards her without hesitating, and grabbed her arm, pulling her aside. The lightning stroke hit the ground just a few meters away from us. After a

moment of recovery, she stood up and looked at me with a mixture of frustration and anger. It was obvious what her thoughts are. She just couldn't believe

that I protected her, a simple "monkey", as she would say. "You...you pr-protected me...?", she asked, but this

time, her voice was a lot softer than before. She almost sounded...friendly. She stood up and, suprisingly, allowed me to stand up aswell. I looked into her eyes

again, and this time, she didn't react like before. Instead, she gave me such a sweet and innocent look, just as she wanted to say: "I just want someone to

protect me...I wanted to be the strongest, and I pretended that I'll never need an Ashikabi. But now...my feelings are different.". Wait - she just REALLY said

that? Wow...I didn't think that the simulation would adapt this way, but I appreciated it. "What is your name?", she asked, now with a calm, soft voice. My

heart almost skipped a beat as I said: "My name is Maxi Shineto.". It sounded sweeter than any Dubstep ever could, as she said:" I'm Tsukiumi...n-nice to meet

you, Maxi.". "One question: What did you mean by your feelings being different now? If you don't mind me asking, of course.", I asked her. "Before this

moment, I always hated the idea of having a monkey controlling my body. But I see now that this is not what I really was afraid of. I was afraid of binding

myself and then losing this person.", she explained. "I see. May I ask you what your answer is?", I brought back the question I asked a few minutes ago, "You

know...about becoming my Sekirei?". "As you may have noticed, my body intensely reacted to you, and that must mean that you're my Ashikabi. So, my answer

is yes. Yes, I will and want to become your Sekirei.", she replied, slightly blushing and looking at her shoes. "I don't want you to force yourself to do something

you wouldn't really want yourself. If you have doubts...", I began, but before I could end the sentence, she interrupted me. "The only one who's allowed to kill

you know...is me.", she whispered and came closer to me, looking into my eyes, her look full of desire and love. I smiled and very softly putted my hands on her

cheeks, holding her face only a few inches away from mine. I closed my eyes and kissed her. The moment our lips touched...was incredible. I never felt

something even close to the feeling I had then. My entire body was exploding from adrenaline, in front of my eyes a million colours exploding and sparks of light

dancing. I putted my arms carefully around her, holding her completely. The next second a bright, blue light filled the back yard where we were, and blue wings

appeared in between her shoulders. She sighed and and the kiss ended, her leaning against my chest. I putted one arm softly around the back of her head,

partially covering my face in her wonderful, blonde hair. It smelled like rain, and I loved her with every cell of my body, even if she was just fictional. In the

moment I became her Ashikabi and she became my Sekirei, it didn't matter to me. Nothing mattered for me, except for her, and I knew that she felt the same

way. She became real to me. If nessesscary, I would easily spend the rest of my life in this simulation, just to be with her. I am a very devoted person, but at

the same time, I don't force my partner. We leaned there on the wall for several minutes, until Tsukiumi opened her eyes and looked up to me. "I-I love you,

Maxi. I truly love you from the bottom of my heart." "I love you too, Tsukiumi. From the bottom of my heart. Please, never leave me.", I said, and we kissed

again. It still was the best feeling I ever had. "We should go to somewhere more comfortable, not a back yard. I don't want you to get a cold. Not that you

think that it would matter to me where we are as long as we are together - I just care about you.", I said, slowly standing up. She agreed and grabbed my

hand. I looked at her and we walked away from the spot where our love began, into the sunset, smiling at eachother.


	2. Chapter 2 - The parents part

"Mom, Dad, I'm home!"

Yes, even in this simulation of a fictional city, I allowed myself to put in a home and my parents. "Hello? Anybody here?", I asked. "Yes, we're

here! In the living room!", my father replied. I noticed Tsukiumi was slightly shivering, and I asked her what was wrong. "It's just that...when

I'm around you, I always get so nervous...", she almost whispered. She had such a beautiful voice when she was speaking, but when she was

whispering, it sounded amazing. I appreciated the way she talked to me. Not like someone who's above others, like to Minato in the series,

but like someone who's equal. And I loved her even more for that. I hugged her and she literally fell into my arms. It was a wonderful feeling,

and I wished that this moment would never stop. But, of course, it did. My mother opened the door and her jaw dropped more like any

Dubstep drop could ever dream of. "Wha-...who...Maxi? Who is this young lady?", she asked, obviously surprised, but not angry. To "defuse"

the situation, I quickly introduced Tsukiumi as my girlfriend, but I was interrupted by her. She stated: "I'm his wife. We are united until the end

of our lives.". My mother's reaction was quite unexpected; she just didn't say anything for a few moments. As she regained her speech, she

only said: "Okay..." and went back into the living room. "Oh, I can think of what happens next. They are discussing their next action together,

so one doesn't interfere with the other", I explained to Tsukiumi. "They did that in various situations in the past. It usually means I either did

something bad or a giant crisis is about to happen", I finished. Tsukiumi just looked through the halfway open door into the living room, leaned

back, turned towards me and kissed me. It took me by surprise - but that made it even more exciting. The feeling was more intense than

before, maybe because I wasn't expecting a kiss in this situation. "Whatever happens to you, I'm never gonna let you down. Please,

remember that. I will always be with you.", she assured me after the kiss had ended. "Th-thank you, Tsukiumi. I can assure you that I feel

exactly the same way for you. I'll never leave you." I replied. She layed her head on my shoulder. It felt like a drop of water, and I smelled her

wonderful hair again. Then, something a bit irritating happened: I actually heard drops of water. Drop, drop,drop. "Do you hear that?" I asked

Tsukiumi. She nodded and looked around in the room. "The door to what seems to be the kitchen is open, maybe it's coming from there?", she

suggested. "Yeah, could be. Let's take a look." I said and walked towards the open door, still one arm around Tsukiumis shoulder, and her arm

around my shoulder. I actually preferred this form of showing the world that two persons are in love to going hand-in-hand, because to me, it

expressed the cohasion better. We found the water tap not being closed completely, which was causing the dropping noise. I closed it quickly

and sighed. What a relief. Tsukiumi and I returned into the corridor in which we first were. My mother and my father were standing in front of

the door to the living room, next to each other, smiling at us. I looked at Tsukiumi, a look of confidence and reassurance. She returned the look

and we walked closer to my parents. "Dad, this is Tsukiumi. She's my wife.", I said self-confident as always. Tsukiumi wasn't surprised about

me introducing her as my wife, seeing as I previously hesitated to do so. Instead, she nestled a bit closer to me, and greeted my father with a

handshake. "Well, if that's not a surprise! My son goes out for a walk and returns married. Damn, this world is fast!", he laughed. I was

relieved that my parents didn't freak out about it. I was actually happy about it. I mean, in real life, this wouldn't have worked so smoothly. But

fortunately, this was a simulation. "You don't need to stand there forever. Go out, live your life together as long as you have it! That's what it

was made for. Have fun!", my mother said. That sentence brought back a dark memory: "Even if this is a simulation, it still is Sekirei...and that

means there will someday be fights. We can't escape them. Or..." I had an Idea. I could control the story and the time. No need to worry about

everything. "Tsukiumi, one question." I said as I shut the door of the apartment behind me. "I know that the Sekirei are here to fight, but do

you...want to fight with anyone out there anymore?", I asked. She thought about my question for a moment, then she said: "Well...before I

met you, I had nothing to fight for except myself. But to be fair, there was never much need for me to defend myself. Most Sekirei knew me

and were wise enough to not mess with a single-number. So, basically, I want to spend the rest of my life together with you. I will of course

defend you should it be nessescary, but I don't really want to fight just for the fight anymore, no.", she answered. "Oh, Tsukiumi, thank

you...you have a very strong and dedicated personality, and that's what makes me love you even more." I said and we kissed again. I hoped

this feeling would always appear when we kiss.

"Your parents were nice", Tsukiumi said as we walked down the stairs of the building to get

something to drink at a nearby café. Tsukiumi never drunk coffee before, since there was no need to be revitalized when you're a Sekirei. So

I decided to introduce her to coffee, since it was quite a famous drink in our culture. "I have read that this coffee can make people more

powerful", she said. "If I drink some of it, would it help me defend you better?" "Well...maybe. I don't know, but what I know, is that it helps

you to stay up longer and helps you to concentrate. But if you drink too much of it, you will sleep in after a while." I explained. "But we can at

least try it. But it's your decision, I'm not forcing you to do this", I added quickly. "Don't worry, I understood it right. You don't need to justify

your ideas and wishes in front of me", she said, smiling at me. For the first time, I actually took a close look at her in life-size. She was about

my height , maybe a bit smaller, but that didn't matter to me. There was her long wonderful blonde hair, smelling like rain, her beautiful face

with an adorable smile, then there was her not insignificant decolletée, then her long, amazing legs covered with black stockings in long,

brown leather boots and her long, black dress. She just looked astonishingly beautiful. Well, she was probably designed to be perfect in the

first place...what was I supposed to say? Experiment successful! But to me, she was so much more than just an experiment, she was my wife,

forever and ever. And I never wanted to loose her. And the way she looked at me, I knew she felt the same way. Being married to Tsukiumi

made me remember what Minato lacked living in the Maison Izumo AND with other Sekirei. At the beginning of the series, I was a bit jealous of

him, but then I understood that polygamia wasn't as great as many people thought. Just as I finished that thought, we had reached the café

and I chose a normal coffee with milk and sugar. Tsukiumi asked me what to choose, since she wasn't used to coffee, and I recommended her

to take the same, since it was the basic coffee. We took a table outside the café and watched the moon rise upon the sky. We couldn't get our

eyes off the other. As Tsukiumi took the first sip of her coffee, she remarked: "Hm...it tastes a bit bitter, but slightly sweet at the same time. I

like it.". "I somehow knew that you were gonna like this drink...oh, you have some of it on your upper lip. May I remove it?", I asked. "S-Sure,

please, go ahead...", she answered, slightly blushing again and looking at me with the same look she gave me when our love began. I leaned

towards her and kissed her. This kiss was probably the longest we ever had, except from the winging kiss. "This night promises to be the best

of my life...", I thought to myself, without having pervert intentions.

As we arrived back home, I asked Tsukiumi:"Tsukiumi, I don't want to be rude, but do you have a place where you permanently live?".

"Well...not really, I mean, as a Sekirei, I never felt the need to be bound to a local home...but now, I have nowhere to go. Can I...can I live

with you for a while?" she replied, looking down at the ground. I gently putted my hand under her chin and slowly turned her head towards

me. "Hey. It's nothing to be ashamed of when you're living with me. And as far as I know, it's normal for married pairs. Come on, I'll set up

something for you.", I answered as I opened the door quietly. We stepped in, and I saw that the whole apartment was dark. "I guess my

parents are already asleep, so we should be a bit quiet" I whispered. "Okay" she whispered back with her lovely voice. I turned around and

shut the door as quiet as possible. I guided Tsukiumi to my room and looked for something like a sleeping bag and a mattress for her.

Fortunately, I found both, and even a set of bedsheets and cushions. I asked her what she would prefer, and she chose the bedsheet and

cushion. I helped her preparing the resting place, and then showed her the bathroom so she could prepare herself for her sleep. I let her

alone in the bathroom, closing the door behind me in respect for her privacy. After a few minutes, she stepped out again, and immidiately went

towards the mattress. I went into the bathroom and prepared myself too. As I stepped out of the door again, my eyes widened in pleasure.

"I...I..." I couldn't find the right words to say then. Tsukiumi layed on the bed, only wearing a white negligée and her panties, smiling at me.

"How do I look?", she asked, but she already knew what my answer was gonna be. "You look...absolutely astonishing. Even more beautiful

than normally.", I replied according to the truth. "But...where did you get this from?", I asked. "Well, I took it out of my case. I brought it here

as you were in the bathroom.". "Ah, I see. It really looks beautiful." I said. I quickly went over to the bed and got under the blanket. Tsukiumi

softly layed one hand on my chest, nestling close on me. "Don't you...want me?", she asked, blushing more than ever. Her voice was as much

shivering as her body. She closed her eyes, laying her head on my chest, waiting for my answer. I've always knew that his moment would

come someday, but this soon...I mean, I'm not a person who thinks that this part is the most important thing in a relationship. Instead, I think

it's one of the things that just happen and aren't absolutely nessescary. It's a nice feature, but it's not required every day. But this situation

was something different. I had to fullfill my duty as a man, as Tsukiumis husband. I turned around to get on top of her and kissed her. "I love

you, Tsukiumi.", I said, completely honest. She closed her eyes and began to take off her negligée.


	3. Chapter 3 - A new life

I woke up with Tsukiumi to my side, and her left hand was lying on my chest, along with her head. Her body felt warm and soft, and I was very

happy to be with her in that moment. There was no place I'd rather have been other than around her. Last night was wonderful, and as I

looked at her beautiful face, she woke up and gave me a wonderful smile. I smiled back at her and leaned in for a kiss. Once again, the

extraordinay feeling went throughout all my body. She closed her eyes once again and rested her head on my chest. "Hey, honey. Good

morning. Did you sleep well?", I asked her, my voice almost whispering. Only between us both it wasn't nessescary to speak as loud as to

anyone else. We understood eachother better than we ever had understood someone in both our lives, which were united to one life now.

We became married in a way unlike any other, and I have to say that I didn't regret it. When I was together with her, I felt so lucky, so happy

to be with someone this beautiful. "Good morning...yes, I slept well. Last night was amazing...I never thought it would be such a pleasure.

I-I'm happy that you care about me this much...th-thank you.", she said. The changes the script had caused created a completely new

Tsukiumi. I wasn't sure about the long-term consequences for this entire series, but in this particular moment, I didn't give anything about

that. A strand of her long, blonde hair tickled my arm that was around her shoulders, but it wasn't like the usual, uncomfortable tickling you

want to get rid of. It was a pleasing tickling, and so, I didn't move my arm at all. Instead, I enjoyed the small nervial stimulation, as it showed

me that I was alive, was with her. And that was all that mattered. "I love you, and in my book, that absolutely includes caring about my wife.

But I would care about you even if it wasn't my duty. Nothing can tear us apart now.", I added, and very softly stroke her cheek with my other

hand. It felt great. She was, in this very moment, so vulnerable, so different to the original Tsukiumi in the series, who always acted strong

and indipendent. Well, I suppose she had to rival against five other Sekirei for one man. "I want you to know something." "What?", she asked.

"I want you to know, that, whatever happens, I will always and only love you. I will never have any other Sekirei apart from you, you are my

one and only wife for the rest of my life. I really truly love you and I promise you that I will always protect you with everything I can.", I

whispered in her ear, her eyes still closed. She smiled at me and I saw a small tear rolling down her cheek. "What's wrong, Tsukiumi?", I asked

in concern. "N-nothing, I'm fine. It's just that your words touched me, that I can't help it but to cry tears of joy. I love you too, and I will do

everything I can to protect you. I promise you that forever.". After she had finished, she opened her eyes and looked at me. Smiling, she

kissed me again. After the kiss I asked her what she would want for breakfast. "Mmmmmh...maybe some bacon and eggs, if it isn't too much

effort." she answered. "Nah, don't worry. It never is an effort if I do it for you." She smiled and gave me that look again, full of love and

thankfulness. I began to move out of the bed, slowly releasing Tsukiumi out of my arms. "Should I bring the breakfast on a tablet to you or do

you want to eat together with my parents? I'm letting you choose." "I...I prefer to eat in company, so...I would like to eat together with your

parents. Is that okay for you?", she asked. "Yeah, absolutely. I'd never force you to do something you don't want yourself, and I want you to

know that." I answered and went into the bathroom to make myself ready for the first day of my new life as Tsukiumis Ashikabi and husband.

After I was done, Tsukiumi entered the bathroom and I avoided to look directly at her, since she wasn't wearing anything. "Please...", she said

all of a sudden, "don't...don't look away. We're married, you don't need to look away. I don't mind you looking at me." I still hesitated a bit - it

was a basic rule of behaviour not to stare at people who are naked. And now it suddenly was...okay? I slowly began to turn my head and

opened my eyes. She just stood there besides the bed, and looked to the ground, blushing. I always knew that clothes could make persons

look completely different, and Tsukiumi was already an astonishing beauty in her normal outfit, but without her clothes...there were no words

to describe how beautiful she looked. After a few seconds I said: "You really are beautiful, no matter what you're wearing. I hope you know

that.". "Thank you, Maxi. I appreciate your complimenting words. I'm gonna go get dressed now for today. You are allowed to see me like that,

but no one else.", she answered, still blushing. She went into the bathroom and I walked into the kitchen to prepare the breakfast. I found my

parents, already sitting on the table and eating. "Mornin' Mom, mornin' Dad! Did you sleep well?" "Ouuaahh...yeah, thanks.", my mother

yawned. My father said: "Yes, thank you, son. And you?" "Ummm...", I stuttered. My father laughed and gave me a wink; he knew what I

meant. My mother seemed to think the same, as she chuckled slightly. The bacon and the eggs were done, and I putted them on two dishes.

In this moment, Tsukiumi stepped through the door. My eyes widened and my mouth opened as I tried to say something, but after I didn't

found anything appropriate, I closed my mouth again. Instead of her long, black dress she usually wore, she had chosen a white one shoulder

top with a normal denim jeans and a pair of red sneakers. The way she looked now, nobody would've ever guessed that she was a Sekirei.

She looked amazing. "I...I prepared the bacon and the eggs..." I began to stutter, still amazed by her look. After a few seconds, I finally

managed to regain my senses and sat down on the table, Tsukiumi took the place to my right, and as my hand rested on the table, she

putted her hand on top of mine. "I love you.", she said. I looked at her and smiled. "I love you too, Tsukiumi. I hope you will enjoy the meal I

made for you.". We kissed again, and after the kiss had ended, we began eating. After she had tasted the first mouthful of the meal, her eyes

widened. "Wow! This is fantastic! And you eat this every day?" "Well, not every day, but quite often, yes. Glad you like it!", I answered. She

liked my cooking! This was exactly the situation I foretold when everybody said: "Don't do a cooking placement, it's not worth it!". And tada,

on this glorious day, it was absolutely worth it having the placement completed.

After we finished eating, I took the empty dishes to the sink and started cleaning them. "Oh, wait! I have an idea!", Tsukiumi said and hurried

back into my room. I watched her running through the door, and smiled. She was agile and a very mature person, but sensible and fragile at

the same time. I turned back towards the sink and continued to clean the dishes. After a few minutes, I heard Tsukiumi coming back and

looked towards the door. The sight of her took my speech once again. She wore an apron, combined with a light blue dress, just like the one

from the series. It was one thing to see her on a screen, but another to see her standing in front of me with that outfit. It looked very pretty

on her, and before I could say anything, she asked: "How do I look?". "You...you look...wonderful. As always, if I may say.", I answered. She

thanked me and walked over to the sink to help me clean the dishes. She was such a beautiful woman, and I think she knew how and when

to use her beauty to achieve the best effect on her surroundings. Having the dishes finished, we returned to my room to grab our phones and

wallets, change clothes, and then we were ready to go. "Mom, Dad, we're going out into the city. We'll be back before 10 PM!", I told my

parents before closing the door behind us. We stood in the corridor, alone. No one else seemed to be awake, although it was just 9 AM. I

turned to Tsukiumi and smiled at her. We kissed, and walked towards the stairwell, my left arm resting on her left shoulder, and her right arm

on my right shoulder, nestling close on me with her head laying on my left shoulder. I loved her. In moments like this, this was the only thing

that mattered for me. And seeing her reaction, I knew she felt the same for me. This new life was just beginning, and it promised to be the

best ever.

We visited a shopping mall first, trying out sunglasses and comparing ourselves with famous movie actors. We laughed a lot together - she

had a wonderful, delighting laugh. I loved to see her happy, and I swore myself to never disappoint her. We both bought a pair of sunglasses,

and continued walking through the mall together. We looked kinda ridiculous, but it didn't matter to us - we where together. Next, we went to

a clothing store and I took a look at some suits. I love suits, you know. If I could, I would wear one every day. They all looked quite expensive,

but thanks to the script I didn't need to worry about money. I wrote a credit card hack so it had unlimited balance on it, but it still looked like

"just" 15.483 $. If nessesscary, I could expand the "camouflage amount", as I named it if needed, but there seemed to be no reason for that.

I bought two suits, one black with a tie, one with a bowtie. Tsukiumi said that she prefered the one with the tie, and I agreed with her in that

regard. I also bought her a new dress, red, ruffled and long. She tried it out, and as she stepped out of the changing room, she blushed

slightly. The new dress fitted her perfectly, and made her look beautiful. "D-does this look good on me?", she asked. "You look wonderful in

this. Is it comfortable?" "Quite so, quite so. How much does this cost? Isn't this too expensive?", she asked shily. "This isn't too expensive.

Nothing's too expensive for you.", I replied, stood up and kissed her again.

After our small shopping tour, we went for a nice restaurant to dine in. I chose the Golden Wings, a restaurant with "high standards" as it put

it itself quite clearly on the outside neon signs. We stepped into the room, and were immidiately greeted by a man who took our jackets and

put them onto coat hooks. Tsukiumi found a very romantic table for two near the window, with candle light and everything you could possibly

dream of for a romantic dinner. We chose a big portion of spaghetti carbonara together, and as we ate up, the magic moment happened. We

both ate the same noodle, and before we could realize it, our lips touched and the touch became a proper kiss. At first, I thought I would

never get used to her wings spreading every time we kissed, but in this moment, it didn't bother me anymore. Quite the opposite, I LOVED the

effect that had. It made her look even more beautiful than she already was. I asked myself if those so called "wings" were of an actual

physical nature, but I didn't dare to ask her, because I figured it could offend her. "Maxi, tell me...a-are you happy with me?", she asked all of a

sudden. "Yes! Yes, of course! Why in the world wouldn't I be happy with you? You are the most beautiful and strong woman I have ever met.

I'm so glad I became your Ashikabi and you became my Sekirei. Yesterday was the best day of my life, and we spent as much time as possible

together since we were united. We are bound together now, forever and ever. I love you, and there is no one in this world I'd rather be with

than you.", I answered, according to my true feelings and my opinion. "Maxi...", she began, but I knew that she wasn't going to finish that

sentence, since it was one of the things that only happen in animes. Two lovers say eachothers names, and then they kiss, so, according to

my "role", I said "Tsukiumi...". But something was different. I really felt the need to say her name as I did it. Was that...no, it couldn't have

been. I was in love with her, weren't I? Weren't I? This question really had me worried, and I thought about it for a few moments. My

subconcious is probably trying to reach reality, I thought. But...that was...impossible! The dream portal evidently demolecularised every living

matter that passed through it, so my body was basically transported into a "pocket dimension" created by one of the portal's circuits. Like I

previously mentioned...highly advanced technology. But my digital self was nothing more than my pure concious now, so were did these

thoughts found their origin then? I mean, they integrated my complete personality into my digital self, but still...I had the feeling that my

subconcious was trying to wake up, and it realized that my love for Tsukiumi would never hold, because as soon as I would be out of this

simulation, everything inside would freeze until I got back, and she was just a fictional character after all. They would just...stop moving...by

that thought, I began to cry. "Honey, what's wrong? Are you okay?", Tsukiumi asked worried. I looked up to her and focused on her deep,

azure blue eyes. "No, I...I'm fine. But I want to stay with you forever and ever. Please...promise me this, okay?", I replied, with tears in my

eyes. She looked at me benevolently and said: "Even if I don't know why you're bringing this up right now, but I will gladly promise you to

never leave you until my life ends. I swear it. And now...please stop crying. There's so much more to be happy about; so please, allow me to

brighten you up a little bit...", she said, blushing, then she kissed me. Her wings spread once again and it was almost like they washed all my

tears away. I suddenly became happy and grateful to spend some of my life with that wonderful person. I hoped it would never end.


	4. Chapter 4 - Super-powers

We walked home, arm in arm, and my face was once again partially covered in her wonderful blonde hair, smelling like the rain. "Did I ever tell

you..." I began, "...that your hair smells like the rain? Like a refreshing breeze from the air above an ocean." "Really? Thank you..." she said,

blushing and nestling a bit closer onto me. I mean, she was the WATER sekirei, the water goddess, not to say after all. She was so much more

than just a wife to me. "The bond between a Sekirei and her Ashikabi...is way more than just a normal wedding..." I recalled her words. But

did she say them to me or in the original series? I must've thrown both storys a bit together. Oh man, this wasn't good. I mean, having

Tsukiumi here at my side was the best thing I could've ever dreamt of, but the mixing of both stories was definitely something very bad. Two

realities (or should I say fictions?) colliding...I was sure Sigmund Freud would have had his fun on my mind right then, but I was kind of glad he

wasn't there to examine and question me. Instead, I was together with the person that mattered most to me: Tsukiumi. "You look worried, Is

something wrong?", she asked, just as if she had read my thoughts. "I just thought about how my life improved since I met you." that wasn't

a lie, I just wasn't telling her everything I had just thought. I assumed if I told her that she was a fictional character, the anime would adapt

immidiately and she would laugh and say something like "Nonsense!". I wasn't going to try it anyway, though. I liked the temporary harmony I

created for once in my life. At least until...the vacactions would be over. And that was in one week. Within one week real world time, one week

in the simulation passed by aswell. I could've messed around with the time control, but I preferred it to leave it as it was. I didn't program the

time control, I just basically learned how to use it and when. But I was confident: If nessesscary, I would stay the rest of my life in this

simulation. Because, no matter if she was real or just an idea of a character designer - to me, she was as real as it could be. I suddenly felt

strangely reminded of the movie "The Matrix"; it was also about what we define as reality. To that time, I've found it very interesting, and I still

do. After all, the dream portal was nothing else, except for the part with the being trapped inside the simulation. I could get out anytime I

would've wanted to - but I didn't want to. I wanted to stay with Tsukiumi, and nothing could stop me from doing that. "Tsukiumi, can I ask you

for a favor?" "Surely. We are husband and wife, you can ask and tell me anything." "Would you...jump up this building with me?" As I finished

my question, she smiled at me. It was obvious that she enjoyed using her Sekirei powers for something different than buying food or fighting.

She said: "I'd love to do that with you. Are you ready?" "I was BORN ready. Wohoooooo!", I yelled as she slightly flexed her knees and

jumped higher up than I ever imagined. In her concentrated look was a deep strength and a deep sensibility at the same time. We landed on

the rooftop of a nearby building, the so called "Teito Tower". It was the tallest building of the city and owned by M.B.I., the giant company that

hosted the Sekirei plan. As Tsukiumis and my feet stood on firm ground again, I turned around to face her and we kissed. It was a beautiful

view, us both, there, on the tallest building of the entire city, with all the city's lights and neon signs, and Tsukiumis beautiful blue wings that

had appeared again enlightened the ground around us. Scenes like this one made my life as wonderful as it was. Suddenly I remembered my

promise before my parents. "Oh, damn! What time is it?", I asked, shocked, looking at my watch. 9:56 PM. I told Tsukiumi, but she just

remained calm and said: "Don't worry. I'll get us home in under 4 minutes. Trust me, darling!". I opened my mouth to say something, but I

assumed that the knew what I was gonna say, because it was already too late. She slightly flexed her knees again, and a few milliseconds

later we already were in mid-air. My instincts told me to scream, but my infinite trust in Tsukiumis abilities silenced my fears. But still - we were

in mid-air and heading for the house, and we had more than two minutes left. We fell towards the ground, but it looked like Tsukiumi knew

what she was doing with every second of our fall. Almost exactly 10 seconds before we would've hitted the ground, she slightly changed her

position relative to the ground, to provide a softer landing I assumed. And indeed, we landed in front of the house, at 9:58 PM. We hurried

back up the stairs and just stormed in through the door a few seconds before 10 PM. I gave Tsukiumi an appreciating smile. "Nice timing! I

never thought you could move this fast. I mean, you told me that the Sekirei have special powers, but to experience the intensity of these

powers myself was something completely different.", I said. It was a new way to travel, but I liked it nevertheless. Suddenly, I remembered

that we were still standing in the corridor, so I walked towards my room. Tsukiumi didn't look like she was out of breath, instead, she looked

like she just walked a few steps. "These Sekirei really are very interesting", I thought to myself as I walked through the door to my room.

Tsukiumi followed me, and I opened the closet to choose a new outfit for tomorrow. At first, I considered a white and blue-checkered shirt

combined with a white T-Shirt underneath, along with a champagner-colored jeans, but then I chose a grey sweatshirt with red font and a

normal denim. As I went towards the bathroom, a thought came into my mind. What would happen, if every other Sekirei would fight and loose

over time, and only Tsukiumi would remain? She did fight already, I knew that, and she told me that she didn't really enjoy the fights after all.

It always ended with one of the opponents dying - and that was the last thing I wanted for Tsukiumi. At this time, I didn't really had to worry

about her being defeated, as she was a very powerful Sekirei. But still, there were others with at least equal abilities. Still thinking about

these things, I finished my routine and stepped outside the bathroom. Tsukiumi was sitting on the bed, waiting. I smiled at her, and she stood

up and went into the bathroom. I putted my clothes on a chair near the bed and layed down. I grabbed the cover and made myself

comfortable. I still kept thinking about what Tsukiumi told me about the Ashiukabis controlling the city; and I thought about how it all would

end. I changed the story of the anime, and therefore the consequences would of course also be different. Suddenly, I remembered something

I didn't think of as I replaced Minato in that certain scene: he still existed inside this world! He gathered all his other Sekirei, and, ultimately

would become..our opponent. This had me worried, as he lacked Tsukiumis influence now. I turned on my tablet which I brought with me into

the simulation to always be able to check on the story and the simulations systems. The story didn't look different, but I knew very well that

this could change any second. And, of course, it did. The story text changed a few lines, but these few lines worried me: "Minato had the

feeling, that somehow he was lacking something in his life. Even with five Sekirei by his side, he still was missing a certain factor in his daily

life. His deepest wish was to get a girlfriend, and now he had three young women, one little girl, and Kagari (or Homura). But he wanted

something that would hold for a long time, and the only thing that could insure him this was a marriage. A legitime wife in his life was what he

wanted." Damn it! I figured something like this would happen. But it was not the end of the world, It simply meant that I needed to change

some of the code for Minato to make him think that his wish to marry someone was just a fix idea, and not something serious. A few minutes

later, I was finished, and so was Tsukiumi. She came out of the bathroom, carrying her black dress with one hand, putting it on the chair next

to the bed, and then laying down to my right. I putted the tablet into standby, turning my face towards Tsukiumis. She wore a simple

nightshirt with a ruffled finish, but the still looked beautiful in it. I leaned over to kiss her, and after we had kissed, her head and left arm both

rested on my chest. I smelled her perfume, and slowly fell asleep.

The next morning I was woken up by a very loud noise. It wasn't hard to tell that it was the TV in the living room. But it didn't sound like a

normal show, just left on by my parents or something similar; it was static. "Mmmmmhhhh...Maxi? What is that noise?" Tsukiumi asked me,

waking up slowly. "It's the TV, my love", I answered. I realized that even in a simulation, it would never change, this continous problem of

mine. I just don't enjoy getting up in the morning. I mean, I wake up, yeah, but a few seconds later, I get tired again, and I don't even

develop the motivation to move out of the bed. Finally, I realized it's no use procrastinating the inevidable. So I got up to turn off the TV,

flashbacks from horror movies like "The Ring" in mind. Although, these movies aren't really "horror" for me. I'm still not sure how, but there was

only one film where I was ever afraid of, and that only for a short time. After I watched the "critical" part over and over again, penetrating my

mind with stress, I assumed the fear just kinda "broke". Since then, I was not afraid of any movie. I think it's the fact that I know that it

always stays a movie after all, right? Maybe a very well made one, with extremely realistic looking animation and costumes, but still just a

movie. But back to the story. I walked into the living room and turned off the TV. I checked the cable connections, but found no issue. I turned

around to get back to my room, but just as I turned my back to the screen, it turned on again, but this time, it showed Hiroto Minaka. "Ha, ha,

ha! I see you have made yourself comfortable, Maxi-san!", he said with his characteristic voice. It always sounded like an insane child.

Unfortunately, he possessed too much power, and he didn't hesitate to show that to everyone brave or stupid enough to mess with him.

"How do you mean, comfortable?", I said, a liiiiittle bit too ennerved. For a second, I hoped he wouldn't notice, and to distract him from my

"unnatural" background knowledge, I asked: "How do you know my name? And how the heck are you turning on my TV?" "Hehehehe,

business secret, collegue! As for your name, I have my sources. Is that enough explanation for you, or do you require more? If you wouldn't

mind, can we get to the important part now?", he answered. Collegue? What did he mean by that? I knew that the story would put my name

in Minakas small messages, but him calling me a collegue really was something unusual. Maybe it was just a nickname for friends, although he

wasn't really my friend. To avoid him getting angry, I said politely: "That would be appreciated. Please continue, director." That was my small

revenge - only the Sekirei called him director as far as I knew, but he didn't look surprised. Instead, his smile got even bigger than before. "I

just wanted to say hello and ask how you and number nine are holding up.", he stated. It was obvious that he was lying, but I decided to play

his little game. "Okay then. We're both holding up great, my life has gotten so much better since I've met her. And you?" "Oh, you know...I've

been busy observing the game. It's actually more effort than it sounds like, but apart from that, nothing new here. All right, I'll see you soon!

Goodbye!", he answered and the TV turned off. "Oh, was that Hiroto Minaka?" Tsukiumi stood in the doorway. I didn't notice her entering the

room, I was so focused on the conversation with Minaka. "Yes, he just wanted to ask how we're holding up. I told him that everything is fine.",

I answered her question. "Was that okay?" "Yeah, sure. I'm hungry. What are we going to have for breakfast today?" "I'm hungry too,

actually. What would you like? I'm always open for suggestions.", I replied. "I think I would like some rolls with butter and jelly. I'm going into

the bathroom now, could you prepare the dishes and the cutlery in the meantime? Thank you!", and she hurried off. I went into the kitchen to

prepare everything I was told to by Tsukiumi. After I had finished, Tsukiumi was done aswell. She stood in the doorway to the kitchen, wearing

her black dress. "I'm done! I'm gonna go to the bathroom now. Are you going to wait?", I asked. "Yes, of course I am going to wait for you.

Don't take too long", she said, smiling. I hurried to the bathroom to prepare myself for the day, and I almost forgot to grab my outfit. A few

minutes later I stepped out of the bathroom again. If one was to compare me before and after I entered the bathroom, he probably wouldn't

have recognized me. My hair, my clothes, even the way I walked differed from before. I walked into the kitchen, where Tsukiumi was already

waiting for me. "Wow, you really look good today!", she complimented me. "You're as beautiful as always, if I may say.", I gave the compliment

back. We sat down on the table and began to eat. Tsukiumi looked like she enjoyed her meal quite much, and I felt happy for her. The rolls

were delicious, and so was the butter and the jelly. "You really seem to have a great taste in food aswell as in clothing, I gotta say", I

remarked. She stopped chewing and blushed. "Thank you. I think the same of you.", she replied. I really appreciated her being with me,

especially in situations like these. It's not that I didn't like company, but to be with Tsukiumi was something special. I loved her, and she loved

me. How could it be better? "What do you want to do today?", I asked Tsukiumi, breaking the silence. But it was not like a disturbance, more

like a welcome interruption. "Oh, I don't know...being with you is what I want to do most." "Aw, thank you! That's absolutely fine with me, I

feel the same way for you.", I answered. We ate up, and afterwards, we washed the dishes together. Tsukiumi created the water, I washed

the dishes. It was quite funny, as I had never washed the dishes like that. As we were done, we went into my room, and when we were

standing there, Tsukiumi quickly threw me on the bed and kissed me. The element of surprise seemed to be one of her talents. The blue glow

of her wings filled the room in its entirety, and the wonderful feeling went through my body again. I felt that we were united in our hearts once

again, and it was amazing. She basically didn't need her powers to convince me to kiss her, but she didn't really put much power into the

throw. It was as soft as humanly possible. This complete control over her powers made her even more special to me. We layed on the bed for

what felt like years, but actually, only a few hours passed. After we had kissed for so long, we just sat on the edge of the bed, her head

resting on my shoulder, her hand on my chest, and my arm around her shoulders. She nestled close to me, and I felt the warmth of her body

pulsating near my heart. I loved every moment with her, and I felt that she did aswell. "I was born for this", I thought to myself.


End file.
